Attorney's connection to masseuse leads to mistrial

A mistrial was declared last week in a federal sex-trafficking case after a prosecution witness told authorities that the defense attorney was once one of her massage clients.

Massage therapist Liudmyla Ksenych had testified for just 10 minutes on Aug. 22 before the trial stopped for the day. After leaving the stand, Ksenych told government prosecutors that she believed she knew the defense attorney, according to transcripts released Monday by U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman.

Upon learning the attorney’s name – Douglas Rathe – Ksenych told them that Rathe had been her client at a Chicago massage parlor in 2009, according to the documents. Ksenych also said Rathe had purchased perfume for her and exchanged emails with her, according to the court documents.

Rathe, a former assistant Cook County state’s attorney who also has served as a Wilmette Public Library trustee, said “nothing inappropriate” occurred during his visits, and prosecutors said they had “no evidence to indicate” that anything but massages took place.

The transcripts were from a closed hearing Gettleman held last Tuesday with the attorneys and the defendant, Alex Campbell, as they considered whether the week-old trial could continue.Rathe told Gettleman that he had visited Ksenych four times for massages but did nothing inappropriate and believed he could still represent his client, according to the documents.

“I apparently used very poor judgment in even going to this place, but I did nothing inappropriate,” Rathe said. “I apologize to Mr. Campbell. … I got too friendly with (Ksenych) … in the sense that I liked her a lot. … And I gave her a bottle of perfume. Stupid thing to do when you are married, but I did it.”

Federal prosecutors told Gettleman that they believed Rathe had provided a rigorous defense of Campbell. They also said the government was willing to remove Ksenych as a witness and continue the trial, in part because of the public cost of starting the trial over. The judge also was complimentary of Rathe’s defense work in general, according to the transcripts.

But Campbell – who already had filed a motion for a mistrial on a separate issue – insisted he could not trust Rathe any longer, leaving Gettleman little choice but to declare a mistrial. The trial has been rescheduled for January.

“I have to reluctantly conclude that the relationship is irreparable … and, therefore, we have to start again,” Gettleman said, adding that he did this with “great compassion for the witnesses … besides the cost and everything else and disruption. I think we have no choice in this sad matter.”

Campbell is accused of hiring immigrant women to work at massage parlors and then using violence and threats to force them to pay down “debt” he said they had incurred. The charges against Campbell, who allegedly branded the women with tattoos, also allege that he forced some of his victims into sex trafficking. He also faces forced labor and extortion charges. A “pimp bible’’ allegedly belonging to Campbell that describes how to coerce women into sex trafficking was recovered as part of the investigation, authorities said.

In Ksenych’s limited testimony, she testified about her work as a massage therapist at a spa linked to Campbell. Ksenych said she was an illegal immigrant from Ukraine with a bachelor’s degree in law.

Rathe, who was appointed by the court to represent Campbell, told the Tribune on Monday that he did not know the defendant before being assigned to the case and did not engage in any illegal activities with Ksenych.